A Delhi court on Thursday acquitted former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar in a case related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Janakpuri and Vikaspuri, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Court highlighted that while the victims’ trauma was acknowledged, the verdict had to rely strictly on evidence.
The court observed that most prosecution witnesses were hearsay or failed to identify Kumar for over three decades, making reliance on such delayed testimony “risky.” The judgment noted there was no credible proof that Kumar was present at the crime scenes, instigated the mob, or participated in any conspiracy or unlawful assembly.
The case stemmed from the aftermath of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, with three deaths reported in the Janakpuri and Vikaspuri areas. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had reopened the cases in 2015, filing two FIRs against Kumar and others. Despite past convictions in other riot-related cases, the court clarified that each case must be evaluated independently based on evidence.
With this acquittal, Kumar is cleared of charges in the Janakpuri-Vikaspuri incidents, though he remains in jail serving a life sentence from the Saraswati Vihar case, also related to the 1984 riots. The court reinforced that suspicion cannot replace proof in criminal trials.
